Will a low ranked masters hurt my PhD admissions?

[snailguy]

My background in CS was weak in undergrad, but I went to a decent undergrad (within the top 30 UNSWR). I got into a master's program that is ranked between 65 and 85 in CS (wide range to keep anonymous, but that general tier). I like the program because they accepted me despite my weaker background, it's near where I'm located, it's cheaper, and it looks like I'd have great research opportunities since, although it's a smaller department, it's an R1 university.

With that said, I know CS is very competitive. If I wanted to go on for a PhD, assuming I (maybe) had a paper published plus a good thesis in this program, would the low ranking of the program still hurt my chances at programs PhD programs ranked 30 and above (and all programs, more generally)? Please be brutally honest - I have not committed yet and am weighing other options.
Would this program be considered low ranking, even though the university it's housed in is a "name university" (within the top 30 nationally)?

 

[Vanadium 50]

My experience is with physics, not CS. I would argue that if you go this route in physics, where people go straight from BS to PhD, if you enter a MS program, you damn well better ace it. This goes double if you are moving up in your PhD program. You absolutely do not want anyone on the admissions committee to say "He could barely handle East Podunk State. How will he handle it here?"

 

[Choppy]

One way to answer to a question like this is to look up where graduates of your current master's program have ended up. Most schools try to track their graduates. If they typically get into PhD programs that are "ranked 30 and above" then that's a reasonable expectation. If you go back over the last 5 years and not one graduate has gotten into any PhD program, that says something else.